Background: The UM Department of Psychiatry has a national reputation in the area of mental health services research. While many pilot or developmental studies have been completed, major peer reviewed funding on elimination of mental health disparities is lacking. This Research Core will use the infrastructure and collaborative environment and Shared Resources to expand its peer reviewed funding in this area. The Specific Aims for this Core are: Specific Aim 1: To develop lines of research that further the scientific assessment and understanding of the influences of race, ethnicity, and urban/rural residence on the treatment of persons with schizophrenia, in particular their access to mental health services, treatment, and medication use. Specific Aim 2: To develop lines of research that translates the acquired knowledge of the influences of race, ethnicity, and urban/rural residence on mental health services access, treatment, and medication use regarding schizophrenia into interventions to ameliorate observed disparities. Specific Aim 3: To create a forum for discussing and developing research methods, skills, and application of findings that are relevant to the amelioration of racial disparities related to schizophrenia, including the development of specific investigators and collaborations. Specific Aim 4: To establish an effective and enduring infrastructure that will facilitate the identification of appropriate samples and populations for the collection of primary and secondary data that can be utilized for future research. The specific focus of this Center on these core disease areas will allow for intensive research and community outreach efforts by UMSOM/UMB and UMES. The efforts described for each Core will significantly influence the inequities that exist for Maryland's health disparity populations.